M ost of us are familiar with the rainbow-colored pivot companies make when June rolls around each year. To LGBTQ+ consumers, this marketing strategy says one thing: insincerity.
 
Dr. Joanna Schwartz, professor of marketing and subject-matter expert at Georgia College & State University, is working to change that narrative.
 
With her one-of-a-kind course titled LGBTQ+ Marketing, she invites interdisciplinary students to examine marketing failures and successes, find community through discussion and become well-rounded, culturally-sensitive marketing professionals.
 
“It’s not like any course, anywhere,” Schwartz said. “The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business accredits our business college, and one thing they want us to do is give our students a broad perspective.”

“Wouldn’t it be great if we had more coursework that creates connections to people who are different to us? So, I proposed this class,” she said. 

Media outlets like the Associated Press, ABC News and The Washington Post have utilized her voice to make sense of a recent marketing blunder by Bud Light, and help direct the companies that want to do better. 

In fact, Schwartz has been mentioned in the media hundreds of times since January.

In her course, Schwartz fosters an academic environment that enriches her students’ perspectives. Through her professional expertise, Schwartz guides students through complex themes, LGBTQ+ history and market segmentation so they understand the value of connection and differences.  

“You can’t sell to a group of people if you don’t understand them,” she said.

The course is broken into three parts: marketing basics, aspects of LGBTQ+ identity, and how that identity intersects with other aspects of society. It was designed by Schwartz from the ground-up.

“There’s no other course like it,” she said. “There are some business classes that touch on identity, but I haven’t seen any marketing course in the country like this.”

It’s listed as a business elective, marketing elective or women’s and gender studies elective. No prerequisites are required, and it’s usually offered once a year. Students of any major are able to take the course, which currently has seats available.

Craig Conyers, ’20, ’23, is a talent acquisition specialist with Norfolk Southern Corporation. The combination of collaborative projects, Schwartz’s teaching style and innovative exam design in his first consumer behavior course made him want to be in each of her classes.

“We definitely felt super empowered in the course,” Conyers said. “Dr. Schwartz encouraged dialogue on every slide of a presentation. She would ask ‘What did this make you feel?’ or ‘What did you take away?’—even on the exams.”

Exams were collaborative, Conyers said. Schwartz would lead exam prep and post-exam review. She took the student’s feedback into account and would adapt exams to make them better each time.

“It was a collaborative effort, from giving students a voice to the teacher teaching,” he said. 

Conyers said the class ultimately made him a better professional. It helped him lead strategy in one of his first jobs in sales and marketing for a power tool company. 

“Lots of marketing campaigns make construction power tools a ‘one of the boys’ culture,” Conyers said. “Since we were targeting the LGBTQ+ demographic, we couldn’t use that jargon and had to be inclusive.”

“You always want to support and reward the companies doing it right,” he said. “When you see companies doing it wrong, it’s hard to believe in their message and you vocalize that opinion.”